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cut -b list [-n] [file]...
cut -c list [file]...
cut -f list [-d delim] [-s] [file]...
Use the cut utility to cut out columns from a table or fields from each line of a file; in data base parlance, it implements the projection of a relation. The fields as specified by list can be fixed length, that is, character positions as on a punched card (-c option) or the length can vary from line to line and be marked with a field delimiter character like TAB (-f option). cut can be used as a filter.
Either the -b, -c, or -f option must be specified.
Use grep(1) to make horizontal ``cuts'' (by context) through a file, or paste(1) to put files together column-wise (that is, horizontally). To reorder columns in a table, use cut and paste.
The following options are supported: list
A comma-separated or blank-character-separated list of integer field numbers (in increasing order), with optional - to indicate ranges (for instance, 1,4,7; 1-3,8; -5,10 (short for 1-5,10); or 3- (short for third through last field)).
The list following -b specifies byte positions (for instance, -b1-72 would pass the first 72 bytes of each line). When -b and -n are used together, list is adjusted so that no multi-byte character is split.
The list following -c specifies character positions (for instance, -c1-72 would pass the first 72 characters of each line).
The character following -d is the field delimiter (-f option only). Default is tab. Space or other characters with special meaning to the shell must be quoted. delim can be a multi-byte character.
The list following -f is a list of fields assumed to be separated in the file by a delimiter character (see -d ); for instance, -f1,7 copies the first and seventh field only. Lines with no field delimiters will be passed through intact (useful for table subheadings), unless -s is specified.
Do not split characters. When -b list and -n are used together, list is adjusted so that no multi-byte character is split.
Suppresses lines with no delimiter characters in case of -f option. Unless specified, lines with no delimiters will be passed through untouched.
The following operands are supported: file
A path name of an input file. If no file operands are specified, or if a file operand is -, the standard input will be used.
See largefile(7) for the description of the behavior of cut when encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte (2^31 bytes).
Example 1 Mapping user IDs
A mapping of user IDs to names follows:
example% cut -d: -f1,5 /etc/passwd
Example 2 Setting current login name
To set name to current login name:
example$ name=\(gawho am i | cut -f1 -d' '\(ga
See environ(7) for descriptions of the following environment variables that affect the execution of cut: LANG, LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES, and NLSPATH.
The following exit values are returned: 0
All input files were output successfully.
An error occurred.
See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
| CSI Enabled |
| Interface Stability Standard |
grep (1), paste (1), attributes (7), environ (7), largefile (7), standards (7)
Either file cannot be read or does not exist. If multiple files are present, processing continues.
Missing delim on -d option.
Missing list on -b, -c, or -f option.